THE NOSE KNOWS

Helen Keller once wrote, â€œIn the odor of young men, there
is something elemental, as of fire, storm and salt sea.â€? Were
she alive today, she might still catch a whiff of the surf going
by, as marine scents have become a popular ingredient in some of
the newer colognes for men, like â€œJuiceâ€? by Ocean
Pacific and â€œPremiumâ€? by Phat Farm, both launched in
2001. Such scents may become more sought after, however, if
fragrance companies can get them under more noses. Not
surprisingly, almost 8 in 10 (79 percent) of a nationally
representative sample of 2,000 adults polled via telephone between
April and May 2001, say a product's scent is the most important
factor they consider when buying a fragrance. About 6 percent look
for a reasonable price and just 2 percent who look for a designer
name, according to a recent study.

Findings from the â€œVertis Customer Focus 2001: Fragrance
Industry Report,â€? commissioned by Baltimore-based Vertis
Direct Marketing Services and released in November 2001, suggest
that fragrance companies should focus their marketing efforts on
finding new ways to expose consumers to aromas. The survey was
conducted by Pittsburgh-based Marshall Marketing &
Communications Inc.

According to the study, about 2 out of 3 American men (66
percent) dab cologne, while 3 out of 4 (76 percent) women spritz
perfume. In fact, men and women purchase scents with equal
frequency: 59 percent of men and 60 percent of women have bought
perfume or cologne in the past 12 months. But the person who ends
up wearing the scent may not even like it. It seems men aim to
please: 1 in 5 men (19 percent) say they will wear a brand of
fragrance because someone else likes it, compared with only 9
percent of women who will do the same.

Because shoppers often prefer to try on products before making a
financial commitment, Scott Marden, director of strategic services
for Vertis, says scent strips, which accompany fragrance ads in
magazines, make sense. In fact, the majority of fragrance wearers
(68 percent) have read at least one magazine in the past week,
according to the report. And 61 percent of all adults who sniffed a
scent strip in a magazine in the past three months say they find
them somewhat or very helpful when choosing which fragrance to buy.
Younger noses seem to be the most sensitive: 75 percent of Gen Ys
(born 1977 to 1994) and 68 percent of Gen Xers (born 1965 to 1976)
find them helpful, while 60 percent of Baby Boomers (born 1946 to
1964) and just 44 percent of Young/Olds (born 1930 to 1945) find
them helpful.

When it comes to media placement, certain magazines do better
than others. It's not surprising that fashion and style
publications reach the largest share of women spending over $50 on
perfume annually (38 percent). But more perfume and cologne
advertisers may want to make their presence known in magazines
beyond the pages of Cosmopolitan, Elle and Glamour.
Of female big spenders, 35 percent read home and garden titles and
29 percent read arts and entertainment magazines, two genres that
are far less saturated with scent strip ads.

Marketers might also consider reaching scent-conscious consumers
through direct mail that includes scent strips or free samples of
new fragrances. Sixty-two percent of perfume and cologne shoppers
say they've read their direct mail in the past seven days.

For more on the report, contact Scott Marden at (215)
996-4156.

MAKING SCENTS

Of men who spend more than $51 on cologne or perfume annually,
25 percent read arts and entertainment magazines, compared with 18
percent of those who spend less than $51 per year on scents.

Q: WHAT TYPES OF MAGAZINES DO YOU READ
OR LOOK THROUGH ON A REGULAR BASIS?

PERCENT OF MEN BUYING PERFUME OR COLOGNE WHO
SPEND:

MAGAZINE TYPE

TOTAL U.S. MEN

LESS THAN $51 PER YEAR

$51 OR MORE PER YEAR

Sports & leisure

26%

25%

28%

Arts & entertainment

19%

18%

25%

Science & nature

13%

15%

10%

Education

9%

9%

8%

Fashion & style

10%

8%

18%

Home & garden

8%

8%

9%

News

9%

9%

10%

Business & finance

7%

7%

8%

*Columns may add to more than 100% as respondents
were asked to check as many as applied.